The Public Joy of a Purged Land Text: 2 Chronicles 23:16-21
Introduction: The Myth of Neutrality
We live in an age that is deathly afraid of taking sides, at least when it comes to the ultimate questions. Our culture has enshrined a myth, the myth of the neutral public square. The idea is that we can all come together and build a society without asking the foundational question: who is Lord? We are told that faith is a private matter, a personal preference, something you do in your home or in your church, but something you must certainly leave at the door when you enter the realm of politics, law, and culture. We are told that a nation can serve two masters, or better yet, no master at all.
This is a lie from the pit. It is an impossibility. Every society, every law, every institution is built upon an altar. The only question is which god is being worshiped there. Is it the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Or is it the god of secular humanism, the god of sexual autonomy, the god of the state, the god of self? Every nation has a god. The choice is not between theocracy and no theocracy; the choice is only which theos, which god, will be the one whose law is the ultimate standard.
The story before us in 2 Chronicles is a bucket of ice water thrown on our modern, sleepy sensibilities. It is a story of national reformation. It is loud, public, and uncompromising. It shows us what happens when a people, led by a faithful man of God, remember who they are and whose they are. It demonstrates the necessary connection between true worship and public peace, between covenant faithfulness and cultural health. What Jehoiada the priest orchestrates here is not a quiet, personal revival. It is a public, national, and glorious regime change, from the worship of Baal to the worship of Yahweh, and from the rule of a usurping tyrant to the rule of the rightful king. This is not an embarrassing episode from an ancient, primitive time. This is a paradigm for us.
The Text
Then Jehoiada cut a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the people of Yahweh. And all the people came to the house of Baal and tore it down, and his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And Jehoiada placed the assignments concerning the house of Yahweh in the hand of the Levitical priests, whom David had divided by lot to be over the house of Yahweh, to offer the burnt offerings of Yahweh, as it is written in the law of Moses, with gladness and singing according to the order of David. And he caused the gatekeepers of the house of Yahweh to stand, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean. And he took the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of Yahweh, and they came through the upper gate to the king’s house. And they sat the king upon the royal throne. So all of the people of the land were glad, and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword.
(2 Chronicles 23:16-21 LSB)
The Covenant Foundation (v. 16)
The reformation begins exactly where it must: with a covenant.
"Then Jehoiada cut a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the people of Yahweh." (2 Chronicles 23:16)
Everything that follows flows from this single, foundational act. Notice the parties: Jehoiada the priest, all the people, and the king. This is a comprehensive, national covenant. It is not a collection of individual decisions; it is a corporate pledge of allegiance. And the central term of the covenant is simple and profound: "that they would be the people of Yahweh." This is a declaration of identity and loyalty. It answers the fundamental question: Who are we? We are Yahweh's people. And it answers the second fundamental question: To whom do we belong? We belong to Yahweh.
This is the antithesis of modern individualism. We think of faith as a transaction between one soul and God. The Bible thinks in terms of households, tribes, and nations. This covenant re-establishes the nation's identity. They are not a random collection of individuals who happen to live in the same geographic area. They are a people bound together under God. All true social cohesion comes from a shared worship. Without a common altar, a people will inevitably disintegrate. Jehoiada understands this. Before they can fix the temple or the throne, they must first fix their allegiance. They must declare, publicly and corporately, that Yahweh, and not Baal, is their God.
The Necessary Demolition (v. 17)
The first fruit of covenant renewal is not a feeling in the heart. It is the sound of smashing idols.
"And all the people came to the house of Baal and tore it down, and his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars." (2 Chronicles 23:17)
This is what we call iconoclasm. It is the righteous destruction of false idols. True worship cannot coexist with false worship. You cannot simply build a temple to Yahweh next to the temple of Baal and call it pluralism. Light and darkness have no fellowship. Christ and Belial have no accord. The people understand this instinctively. Once they have pledged themselves to Yahweh, the continued existence of Baal's temple is an intolerable offense. It must come down.
And notice, they are thorough. They tear down the house, they break the altars and images in pieces. And they execute Mattan, the priest of Baal. Our modern sensibilities recoil at this. But we must think biblically. Under the law of God, inciting the people to idolatry was a capital crime (Deuteronomy 13). Mattan was not an innocent spiritual leader of a minority religion. He was a traitor to the covenant, a spiritual poisoner leading the nation to its own destruction. His execution was not an act of religious bigotry; it was an act of public justice. Reformation requires two things: a positive affirmation of the truth, and a negative rejection of falsehood. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot be for Yahweh without being against Baal.
The Restoration of True Worship (v. 18-19)
Having torn down the false, Jehoiada immediately moves to build up the true.
"And Jehoiada placed the assignments concerning the house of Yahweh in the hand of the Levitical priests... to offer the burnt offerings of Yahweh, as it is written in the law of Moses, with gladness and singing according to the order of David. And he caused the gatekeepers of the house of Yahweh to stand, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean." (2 Chronicles 23:18-19)
Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does worship. It is not enough to stop doing the wrong thing; you must start doing the right thing. And the right thing is not a matter of personal invention. Jehoiada restores worship according to the book. He follows "the law of Moses" and "the order of David." True worship is not spontaneous and self-generated; it is revealed and regulated by Scripture. It has a grammar, a structure, a God-given shape.
And what is the character of this restored worship? It is done "with gladness and singing." This is crucial. Obedience to God is not a grim, dour affair. It is joyful. The removal of idolatry and the restoration of truth brings gladness. When God is on His throne and His people are worshiping Him rightly, the result is deep, resonant joy. This is the singing, feasting, celebratory faith of the Bible, not the sterile, quiet piety of the moderns.
Furthermore, Jehoiada restores the gatekeepers. He re-establishes the boundaries. The house of God is a holy place, and distinctions must be maintained. The clean and the unclean cannot mingle in the presence of a holy God. This principle is offensive to our egalitarian age, which wants to erase all distinctions. But holiness, by definition, means to be set apart. The church, like the temple, must maintain its purity. It must practice discernment and, when necessary, discipline. An open-door policy that makes no distinction between the repentant and the unrepentant is not grace; it is disobedience.
Coronation and Celebration (v. 20-21)
With the covenant renewed and worship restored, the final piece falls into place: the political restoration.
"And he took the commanders... and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of Yahweh... And they sat the king upon the royal throne. So all of the people of the land were glad, and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword." (2 Chronicles 23:20-21)
The spiritual reformation leads directly to a political reformation. Notice the order. They begin with God, with the covenant, with worship. From the house of God, they proceed to the house of the king. The true king, Joash, is brought from the temple and placed on the throne. This is a beautiful picture of the proper relationship between church and state. The state receives its legitimacy from God. The king is God's servant for the good of the people. Right worship leads to right politics.
And what is the result of this total reformation? Two things: gladness and quiet. "All the people of the land were glad, and the city was quiet." This is the biblical recipe for national shalom. When the true God is worshiped, when the false gods are torn down, when the rightful king is on the throne, and when justice is executed against usurpers like Athaliah, the people rejoice and the city is at peace. This is the postmillennial promise in miniature. This is what happens when a people turn to God in truth. The chaos, fear, and oppression of Athaliah's reign are replaced with joy and tranquility. Righteousness exalts a nation, and the fruit of righteousness is peace.
From Jehoiada to Jesus
This entire narrative is a signpost pointing to a greater reality. It is a glorious Old Testament picture of the gospel. Jehoiada acts as a type of Christ, our great High Priest. He is the one who mediates a covenant, cleanses the temple, and establishes true worship.
But Jesus is a greater high priest, and He has cut a better covenant, not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with His own blood. And the first thing He does upon entering His ministry is to cleanse the temple, driving out the moneychangers. He is the great iconoclast, who came to destroy the works of the devil.
Like Joash, Jesus is the rightful king, hidden for a time and then revealed and enthroned at His resurrection and ascension. He has been seated on the ultimate royal throne, at the right hand of the Father. And like Mattan and Athaliah, His enemies have been judged. On the cross, He disarmed the principalities and powers, making a public spectacle of them.
The application for us, then, is clear. We who are in Christ are the people of the new covenant. Our first duty is to live as the people of Yahweh. This means we must be relentless iconoclasts, first in our own hearts, tearing down every idol that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Then we must be about this work in our families, our churches, and our communities. We must reject the lie of neutrality and insist on the public crown rights of King Jesus.
And we must do this with "gladness and singing," knowing that our High Priest has restored true worship. We are to be the gatekeepers of holiness in our own spheres. And as we do this, as we live out our covenant faithfulness, we are participating in the establishment of Christ's kingdom. The promise of this text is for us. As the gospel goes forth, as the nations are discipled, as the idols of secularism and paganism are torn down, the result will be the same: the people of the land will be glad, and the city will be quiet. This is the peace and joy that Christ the King brings to all who will have Him.